MAP06: The Crusher (Doom 2 In Name Only)

MAP06: The Crusher is the sixth map of Doom 2 In Name Only. It was designed by Eli Cohen (ProcessingControl) and uses the untitled music track from MAP23 of Crucified Dreams, composed by Nicklas Linnes. The par time defined in MAPINFO is 5:00.

Essentials
To complete this map it is only necessary to get either the red or blue keys. However, you will need to visit the switches for the red and blue key doors to progress.

Red and blue keys
Take the chaingun in front of you then go around the left-hand side of the building ahead to find a hole leading down. Follow the path through the building, which will take you down several floors to a water pool, then enter the water and follow the tunnel until you see some shotgun guys at a crossroads; note the room ahead containing the rocket launcher as it will reconfigure itself depending on which direction you enter from. Turn right (west) and go round a corner to confront some lost souls, then enter the doorway behind them to reach a fenced pathway that leads to the center room - the floor has lowered to reveal several walls along with four monster closets holding imps and shotgun guys. Go to the south-west corner and enter the tunnel here to enter a room overlooked by imps and revenants, then press the gargoyle switch on the west wall to raise steps behind you leading up to the red skull key. From here, leap down to the ledge below that had the imps then use the lift in the north-west corner to escape.

Go back to the crossroads and take the east path this time, then follow it round until you reach a room with some overhead crushers; they cannot hurt you for now, so push past some imps and cacodemons to an opening in the south-west corner, go inside and press the gargoyle switch here to open some bars blocking your path. Head round the next corner and kill a waiting imp, then push the gargoyle switch ahead to slowly raise the floor and reveal imps, one or two cacodemons and zombiemen around you. Once you reach the top, leave by the north-west doorway to get back to the center room where the walls have risen, allowing you to step across them and reach the top of the waterfall in the north-east corner. Drop down a hole and follow a trail of candles to some steps, climb up then push past a couple of chaingunners and a revenant to get to the blue skull key. After taking it, kill any cacodemons that teleport in before making your escape.

Yellow key and exit
Retrace your steps to the fenced walkway and go through it to return to the center room, then leave through the east doorway (guarded by cacodemons, as well as two Hell knights on Ultra-Violence and Nightmare skill levels), and follow the passage round to a lift that will take you to the upper level of the crusher room. Run east past the first two crushers to a candle-lit alcove in the east wall, then run south past the remaining crushers to get to an opening in the south wall that has chaingunners. Head down the steps and follow the hallway south and west to see some lost souls and imps ahead, then press the gargoyle switch at the end of the passage - this switch requires the blue key and opens a barrier on the other side of the hall.

Now walk east until you see a doorway on your left, enter it and press a brick wall at the end of the passage to lower it; this lift will put you back on the top level of the center room. Step across the walls in this room to reach the top of the north-west waterfall and go forward to a room with lava, then press the gargoyle switch here and wait for the lava to lower; watch out for imps and lost souls that are released around you on the way down. Once you reach the bottom floor, head south along a walkway and activate a lift at the other end, ride it up then push the gargoyle switch in front of you to get back to the red key room. Activate the lift on your right and ride it up to a staircase, then follow the path south and east to the barrier you opened earlier and collect the waiting supercharge and megaarmor before moving on (the switch here requires the red key and opens the other barrier).

Head south to a large maze that contains multiple cacodemons and arch-viles (you will see an invulnerability at the entrance on I'm Too Young To Die and Hey Not Too Rough), take the west path then head south until you reach the south-west corner of the maze before proceeding east and south to find the yellow skull key in a dead end along with a megasphere and megaarmor. Taking the yellow key will cause a crusher to descend on the entire maze, so you will have to get back to the entrance as quickly as possible. After leaving the maze, kill any revenants approaching from a compartment then go inside that compartment and press either gargoyle switch inside it to re-open the barriers, then head back round to the crossroads at the north end of the building before going south into the center room. Press the gargoyle switch on the other side indicated by yellow skulls, then drop down the hole in front of you to find the exit switch.

Secrets

 * 1) Make sure you have pressed the switch in the south-east corner of the building, the one that raises you along with several monsters, to the very top. Afterwards, go until you reach the area where you have to cross across multiple crushers. Once you finish that, go down until you reach the side path, where you should press the switch here for a better way of getting back, then continue along the steps on the east side. Once you head around the corner in the south-east, take the side path you see here and press on the wall to lower it. Quickly run clockwise all the way to the north-east corner here and hug the indented wall until you go through, where you will find an energy cell pack. (sector 217)

Current records
The records for the map at the Doom Speed Demo Archive are:

The data was last verified in its entirety on April 3, 2022.

Player spawns
This level contains four spawn points:
 * 1) facing south. (thing 535)
 * 2) facing north. (thing 536)
 * 3) facing north. (thing 537)
 * 4) facing south-west. (thing 538)

Things
This level contains the following numbers of things per skill level: